CAMP CASEY, South Korea - Soldiers of the 210th Field Artillery Brigade conducted a Loading Exercise (LOADEX) at Camp Casey, Sept 20.
"The purpose of the LOADEX is to ensure that the brigade is ready and prepared to "Fight Tonight"," said Maj. Williams, a San Antonio,
Texas native, 210th FA Bde. chief of operations. "It's a system to test Soldier readiness and the battalion and brigade systems that are in place in order to deploy, fight and win."
During the LOADEX, Soldiers across 210th FA Bde. responded to alerts, donned combat gear, staged equipment and performed the tasks necessary to deploy in a wartime setting.
As with any large-scale troop movement, the brigade faced and overcame challenges throughout the exercise.
"The real challenge for an exercise like this is prioritization and synchronization of multiple units competing for the same resources," said Col. Christopher P. Taylor, 210th FA Bde. Commander and Killingworth, Connecticut native.
"Logistics was our biggest challenge," said Williams, "We overcame those challenges by effective communication and control, through the leadership of non-commissioned officers and the motivation of soldiers to execute the mission."
Though facing challenges, the brigade reached "deployment ready" status through a synchronized team effort.
"It was a great exercise," said Williams. "There are always points of friction and it showed where we can improve to be more successful in our mission."
With one successful LOADEX complete, the brigade has plans in place to conduct similar exercises in the future to hone its ability to "Fight Tonight".
"The road ahead is to develop solutions and identify friction points," said Taylor. "We will retain the new procedures we've developed and will continue to improve our time."
"It was an astounding training event," said Taylor. "The warriors of 210th Field Artillery Brigade are dedicated, motivated and proved that they are ready to "Fight Tonight"."